Unity Community

Music at Unity Community Church

One of the things I’ve always liked about Unity is the way spiritual concepts have real life applications, removing any imagined boundaries between your spiritual life and your “real life”.  The music at every Unity church I’ve attended is a great example of this.

The songs are often from popular culture, or familiar tunes with modified lyrics to be more positive. Or they’re just catchy little ditties that get stuck in your head and keep the positive vibes going all week long.

In Sunday School, I remember singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from the church’s spiral bound songbook with the bright blue cardstock covers. At Unity Kid’s Camp, I learned “Joy Songs”, sung to energize and unify us as a group. This tradition continued in the Y.O.U., or Youth of Unity. But we also learned songs that we could sing to one another in what we called “sufi dancing”.  Unlike the real sufis—the mystics of Islam also known as Whirling Dervishes—we did not rotate individually on the spot, but formed two concentric circles where we’d always be facing a partner. Then we’d all sing a short song to each other before moving to the next partner. Some were serious, some were fun, but they’ve stayed with me. (Especially the songs of Karl Anthony.) 

In my mind, different churches had different theme songs.  At North Hollywood it was “I am free, I am unlimited”.  At La Crescenta, it was “Magic Penny” and at West Valley it was “Love Train” with ever so slightly modified lyrics. But then again, that was just one beloved song among many with Adam Chester as Music Minister.

At Unity Community Church in Reseda, our Musical Director Jackie Riggs does a mix of contemporary pop songs and her own originals, along with leading us in our favorite Unity songs. One of my favorite pop songs that she does is “Angel” by Sarah McLachlan (with slightly modified lyrics). And one of her originals (that I love!) compares the good things in life to “Sweet Chocolate Cream”. 

And one of my very favorite songs to sing is “God in Every Face” by Mark Stanton Welch. Here--you enjoy the lyrics now, and then join us on Sunday to sing along!

 

We come together to behold
The Power of Love
The Power of Light

We come together to behold
We are Divine

 

 

Lift up our hands
Lift up our hearts
Lift up our vision
Lift it to the stars

 

Dance in the Glory
Whirl in the Grace
See God in every face
See God in every face

 

Malayna Dawn was raised in Unity. She is UCC’s Webmaster and was once an Associate Rep. for the Southwest Region Y.O.U.!

Unity’s World Day of Prayer

September is a big month for those of us at Unity Community Church.  For one thing, September 11th is our anniversary—this year is our 4th!  We feel good that we get to celebrate and affirm UNITY on a day that also commemorates the sadness of lives, families and peace torn apart.  

Another reason we feel good about September is that it is the month when Unity’s annual World Day of Prayer occurs. This year, it happens on September 10th, and this year’s theme, “Reach In, Reach Out, We Can Change the World”, reflects the importance of going within for guidance and then reaching out to help others. Together we can create heaven on earth.

Unity World Day of Prayer is an annual celebration to affirm peace, abundance and love on an individual and global level. There are many ways you can be involved, either by connecting via the website, or by saying a prayer on your own. In any case, your prayers join those all around the world, creating a critical mass of positive energy that truly has the power to change the world.

Visit www.worlddayofprayer.org and feel free to join us at Unity Community Church in the San Fernando Valley to help us celebrate our fourth year of living our vision of being a loving and welcoming center that is an inspiring spiritual magnet for all to experience oneness with God.

~by Malayna Dawn

Old Article About UCC Mostly Holds True

Recently it came up among our Unity Community Church members that when you Google “Unity Churches in the San Fernando Valley” an article comes up about UCC from 2005. 

The only problem with that is that it has some old information in it--like our location and our interim minister at the time--and it doesn’t include the fabulous photo, which can be seen by clicking here, along with the full article as it appeared in the paper. But most of it holds true.  Such as this part:

Steve Keener had given up hope of finding a church like Unity where there is an absence of dogma and religious buzz words.

"I like the inclusiveness of it,'' said Keener. "It was a big relief to be able to continue to study the Bhagavada Gita, for example, and yet it was familiar because it is Christianity-based. There are a lot of practical applications in Unity. It doesn't do me any good to have a Sunday message unless I can apply it during the week.''

Interestingly enough, the latest issue of Newsweek’s International Edition has an article entitled "We Are All Hindus Now".  I can’t post it here, since the issue is still on the newsstands, but About.com’s Hinduism blog has the gist of it. 

According to recent poll data, Americans are conceptually "slowly becoming more like Hindus and less like traditional Christians in the ways we think about God, our selves, each other, and eternity," says Miller.

The article also quotes the Rig Veda, the ancient Hindu scripture, which says: "Truth is One, but the sages speak of it by many names," a doctrine that many Americans have started to believe in the ways they think about religion and spirituality. It points out that 30 percent of Americans call themselves "spiritual, not religious," according to a 2009 Newsweek Poll.

Newsweek then cites Stephen Prothero, a professor of religion at Boston University "who has long framed the American propensity for "the divine-deli-cafeteria religion" as "very much in the spirit of Hinduism...""

Miller further states: "So here is another way in which Americans are becoming more Hindu: 24 percent of Americans say they believe in reincarnation, according to a 2008 Harris poll. So agnostic are we about the ultimate fates of our bodies that we're burning them—like Hindus—after death. More than a third of Americans now choose cremation, according to the Cremation Association of North America. "

But Hindus aren’t the only ones who may find themselves feeling at home at Unity Community Church. The Daily News article also says:

Malayna Weeratunga, whose father was a Muslim from Sri Lanka, grew up attending West Valley Unity Church. She said she is excited to be a part of the new, diverse group looking to tune into spiritual truths.

"Being a part of Unity to me is, 'OK, I am one with everybody.' Unity - the name says it all - we're all one,'' said Weeratunga. "Unity is open- minded. It accepts all faiths and religions. People don't have to give up their religion. They can add Unity to their life.''

But, as it also says in that Daily News article, we are still based in Christianity:

A typical service at Unity Community Church includes a meditation prayer, singing, the message and contemporary music presented by Jackie Riggs, Keener's wife.

"The positive outlook on life is what I like about Unity,'' said Stacy Macris, who has been a Unity church member all her life. "Unity is a Christian-based religion, but it looks at how we're all connected and how to find the good in others.

"It's about taking responsibility as a human being. You're in charge of your life, and it can be a good life.''

The Unity movement was originally founded as a prayer ministry by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, in 1889 in Kansas City, MO. Unity is also well-known for its monthly publication of inspirational messages, "The Daily Word.''

So now that you're up to date, come and check us out at our new location – at 6901 Canby Avenue, Suite 107 in Reseda, California – still in the West San Fernando Valley.  Click here for a map and directions, and our contact information, or just go to www.unity-community.org.

June Thoughts

I have learned a lot about myself since moving to the desert, where every day is different, and interesting, so I know June will be, too. The sky will still be so very clean and blue, and the clouds that appear often will be different, but always ready to sprout their wings and fly with the wind, which sometimes makes me want to join them on blustery, exciting days. 

Since I can’t, and I know that the wind is just doing its job of cleaning things up, that idea leads me to thoughts of how we all need to do the same, for as we release what we no longer need, both physical and mental, we are ready to change for the better, and will have the space to do the things we really want to do. 

Oftentimes, though we say we want to change, we seem to be blocked, because nothing happens, and we wonder why.  But if we think about it, really think about it, we realize we are making the way hard or easy, for we are responsible for our own lives. For years I couldn’t lose weight, because I kept saying if I ate certain foods I’d get fat, and I got exactly what I asked for. When my husband reminded me I used that phrase a lot, I finally listened, and heard that I was, so I began to turn my words around, and I began to lose what I no longer needed, and it was easy, because I was willing to change.

For when we finally decide to be really willing to release what we no longer need, no matter how hard or messy or just plain dull that may be, we can do it, and the things we dream of will have a place to come, because we made a place for them.
 
TIP: So if you need a job or would like a better one, can’t lose weight, or believe you have a bad memory, or even that your health isn’t as good as it should be, start listening, really listening, to what you are thinking and saying about yourself—and begin to clean your mental house. 

Start by turning your words around, and you will be pleasantly surprised to find that you are beginning to believe your words, which make you willing to try for more—for you must be really willing to believe in your dreams, if you are going to reach them.  And when you do, be ready, because you’re more than likely to get something even better than you hoped for, and the answer can be swift, but know that it will not be more than you can handle.  

Love and blessings to you all.  Be willing to have a good month. 

Lucele

May Thoughts

Last month, I was so excited about the coming of spring here in the desert, that I skipped right over the next step in the Circle of Life, forgetting that the skipped step was really a giant leap, for Karma is the one principle that involves so much of our time and energy, creating emotions that become the most important in our lives when we remember that what we give, we receive.  

So I cannot leave it hanging, because although some times we remember our giving with joy, while other times we regret.  If our regrets are minor, they can usually be cleared with just a single loving word or action, for love is an amazing healer.  For instance, if just a smile in passing can change a lonely stranger’s day, or securing needed help for another can change a life, think of what an apology can do.  A loving word or action with an apology for a minor regret is the best way to go, for just a bit of love can be enough, but if our regrets are major, it gets harder to ask forgiveness, or forgive as time passes.  

Recently, I was reminded of a generational event too late to be settled by some of those involved, because those actors in the ongoing drama were no longer alive, so part of it was never resolved.  So why mention it?  Because the same kind of problems can and do happen in other families.  This long event ended with a rift between two sisters, and as they were growing up, the youngest never understood why her sister resented her, and though she had always wanted to make up, when each confrontation always ended in anger, she preferred to avoid her whenever she could, but that was difficult since they shared the same room. 

But when as adults, the older sister surprisingly apologized, she immediately forgave her, because she still loved her in spite of everything.  So the older sister’s early death made her sad, because they had wasted years when they could have been friends, and when a remark her sister had made shortly before her death, that she still hated their father, set her to thinking about what their father had revealed to her shortly before his death, of how strict and even mean his father had been to him as a child.

She knew her grandfather had died suddenly when her father was a small child, so he never had the chance to resolve anything as the sisters did, burying his hurt and anger deeply within, yet he grew to be a kind and gentle man, fortunate to have a loving marriage with a family of his own, while this anger still smoldered deep within him. 

Though she often wondered if he had treated her sister differently, because she had possibly resembled his father, that didn’t change what had happened to the three family members who died with unsolved problems that could have been solved by a willingness to love and forgive.  Since I personally believe that this is not the only life I have lived or will ever live in the future, I know I may have left needs to forgive, not only myself, but others, to clear out any possible dark corners, some buried deeply, for remaining hurts are damaging to all parties involved. 

So I add forgiveness in prayer to any I might have hurt in a past lives, as well as this one, because if I want to be truly living my life well, I must clear every cobweb of the past to free myself and others with the hope that when we meet again, we will meet with love and joy.

TIP: During this month why don’t we join our master teacher Jesus in looking for those dark corners that may remain in our lives, whether major or minor, without judging ourselves or anyone else, and reach out from our hearts to apologize or forgive, in person if possible, but not necessarily, as Eric Butterworth once proved, allowing ourselves the opportunity to awake to brighter and more peaceful days, ready to sing and laugh with joy as we live in each NOW moment with our new found freedom of love and kindness.
     
~ By Lucele Coutts

Ten Commandments - Part Three - What's in a name?

The Third Commandment is "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain."

In otherwords, "Do not lift up, use, or appropraite the word by which you distinctively know God in ways that lack purpose, value or truth."

God said to Moses, "I am that I am." From Hebrew, "Yod-He-Vav-He" transliterated into English: YHWH, with vowels added "Yahweh". Translated, I am who I am, or I will be that I will be, He who IS, the self-existent one, The Great I AM.

From the limited realm of language, these naems are intended to reaveal the fullness of God's being, nature, attributes and everything that can be known. The main concept here has to do with the elusive term "being". Some things are, while others are not. If you want a fancy word, this is an ontological issue--the branch of metaphysics that studies the nature or existence of being.

The name of God embodies all matter, energy, life, and truth. A name points and refers and distinguishes; brings to mind; a name carries with it personal history; power and authority; reputation.

The third commandment says, in substance, in principle, that you cannot take the name of the Lord in vain. You use the name of God whenever you believe in something. What you really believe in, you are attributing to God and experiencing as God. And that shapes the reality of your daily life experiences.

By the power of your thoughts you re-present your idea of God. How would your life change if you believed that your search for God was like a fish in search of water? What would it be like to really believe in the goodness, and mercy, and love, and omnipresence of Source itself...to be at one with that and see it reflected back to you...to find peace and joy by just breathing the air?

You cannot use the name of the Lord in vain. You cannot.

World Prayers for Peace & Unity

Unity Community Church began on September 11, 2005, four years after the date was made significant by the attacks on American centers of power. 

Among the many transformative lessons we can take with us from that date are the need to WORLD PEACE a priority.  So this year, on UCC's 3rd anniversary, the service consisted of prayers for peace from other cultures and belief systems. (See all below or click the category to the right.)

This energy was bolstered by Unity's World Day of Prayer on September 11, 2008 with the theme of Celebrating Oneness, Healing the World.  Their affirmation for all to support was:

Rejoicing in our oneness with God and one another, we celebrate healing in every aspect of our lives and in the world.

This was the beginning of 11 Days of Global Unity: A Season of Interfaith Celebration, which stretches from the World Day of Prayer on Sept 11 through September 21, which is the United Nations International Day of Peace. This is the pledge that you can sign by going to We the World.org:

We, the people of planet Earth, in recognition of the interconnectedness of all life and the importance of the balance of nature,

Hereby acknowledge our interdependence and affirm our dedication to

~Life-serving environmental stewardship,

~The fulfillment of universal human needs worldwide,

~Economic and social well-being,

~And a culture of peace and nonviolence,

To insure a sustainable and harmonious world for present and future generations.

Join Nobel Peace Laureate Archibishop Desmond Tutu and Dr. Jane Goodall, and all of us at Unity Community Church in praying for and affirming WORLD PEACE!

From Malayna, UCC's Webmaster www.malaynadawn.com

World Prayers for Peace - Native American

The great varieties of Native American cultures share four cardinal principles: 1) respect for The Divine…The Great Mystery, 2) respect for Mother Earth, 3) respect for their fellow man and woman, and 4) for individual freedom.  We know and hold the Truth expressed in this Native American Prayer for Peace…

O Great Spirit of our Ancestors,

I raise my pipe to you

To your messengers the four winds,

and to Mother Earth who provides for your children.

Give us the wisdom to teach our children

to love, to respect, and to be kind to each other

so that they may grow with peace in mind.

Let us learn to share all good things

that you provide for us on this Earth.

 

- Sioux Chief Yellow Hawk

World Prayers for Peace - Buddhism

Buddhism is dedicated to practices of Virtue, Concentration and Discernment.  We know and hold the Truth expressed in this Buddhist Prayer for Peace…

May all beings everywhere plagued

with sufferings of body and mind

quickly be freed from their illnesses.

May those frightened cease to be afraid,

and may those bound be free.

 

May the powerless find power,

and may people think of befriending

one another.

 

May those who find themselves in trackless,

fearful wilderness--

the children, the aged, the unprotected--

be guarded by beneficent celestials,

and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood.

World Prayers for Peace - Bahá’i

Bahá’ism emphasizes the spiritual unity of all humankind.  We know and hold the Truth expressed in this Bahá’i Prayer for Peace.

Be generous in prosperity,

and thankful in adversity.

Be fair in thy judgement,

and guarded in thy speech.

Be a lamp unto those who walk

in darkness, and a home

to the stranger.

Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light

unto the feet of the erring.

Be a breath of life to the body of

humankind, a dew to the soil of

the human heart,

and a fruit upon the tree of humility.